Orlando, Fla.—Ground has been broken on Artisan 420, a new mixed-use development in downtown Orlando from Jefferson Apartment Group (JAG) in downtown Orlando. One of the purposes of the nine-story, 299-unit development will be to promote the arts in Orlando with its 10 ground floor live/work artist studios and three visual arts gallery spaces totaling 4,000 square feet, out of the project’s planned 10,000 square feet of retail.

Artisan 420 counts as TOD, because of its location across the street from a new Lymmo bus circulator stop, which connects to Orlando’s SunRail light rail system. SunRail is a new mass transit system operating in metro Orlando that will eventually cover 61 miles upon completion in 2016. Artisan 420 will be completed in late 2015.

Common amenities will include a heated saltwater pool, surrounded by a 10,000-square-foot lounge deck, on the fourth floor of the property. LED shuffleboard, a life-sized chessboard and competition-grade Tailgate Toss tournament courts are planned for the outdoor recreation deck. Residents will also have access to a poolside spa and a fitness center. The building’s live/work studios will feature 16-foot ceilings and 14-foot high windows.

The Thorton Park area, in which the development is located, is considered an up-and-coming artistic enclave in downtown Orlando. The new Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center, currently under construction, will help promote the area as an arts district; the $500 million project is three blocks from the 1.86-acre site of Artisan 420. Also, eight large-scale sculptures were recently added around downtown Orlando’s Lake Eola Park, two blocks north of the development.

Artisan 420 is among the first projects to break ground in downtown Orlando since 2007, according to JAG, but overall apartment development is ramping up in the metro area. Investment specialist Marcus & Millichap reports that developers will complete 6,500 units in 2014, expanding the area’s rental stock a sizable 4.1 percent. Nearly 3,300 rentals were brought online last year.

Jobs are being created in Orlando to drive demand for apartments, however. Metro employers will add 36,300 jobs this year, marking a 3.4 percent increase in payrolls. In 2013, 35,800 new jobs were created. Marcus & Millichap predicts that average rents in the metro will increase 3.4 percent by the end of this year, to $945 per month, the fifth consecutive annual increase.